Do you really want to know why some people are MAGAts? Read my story.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

72. Thank you, Micael for sharing your story. It contributes to DU solidarity and learning.

I think it would be a nice feature of DU if we had a "story library" where people could share parts or all of their life story. These stories help us all to remain open minded, as well as to better tolerate and deal with right-wingers.

I was raised by fantastic folks that went through the Great Depression in the most difficult ways. With large extended families of farmers and timber folks, they were kind, loving, sharing and very compassionate and I inherited all that. At home, despite many hardships we felt at peace at all times.

Now, at 71, I'm finding the world seems no longer compatible with that type personality, or at least most days it feels that way. Selfishness, self-centeredness mixed with hearty doses of smart-ass seems the norm today. Social media just cranks up the volume and encourages that behavior (I can't use it). Life can be hard on soft-hearted shits like me these days.

My folks raised me strict but I would not call them authoritarian. Our youth back then were expected to follow the rules and always show respect to older people and those with legitimate authority. However, the difference from today is that we also were taught to never worship those we respected, and strangely enough to question the validity of authority. There's a powerful difference between that attitude and the typical conservative personality who is totally blind to any flaw in their authoritarian structures.

I went through a very healthy dose of chemical abuse recovery a number of years back. One of the foundational principles I learned was dragging all my dirty laundry out of the closet and into the sunlight, AND sharing it with other human beings. That is unbelievably healing to the human condition for anyone. Thank you for bringing your story to us.

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